It Never Rains In Southern Riyadh

Written on 3-26-10

Last night I was missing everyone real bad and I decided I really needed some good sleep so I got myself a full 8 and a half hours, made me feel great. When I woke up I got myself some breakfast and then I was off to the cleaners up the road from the compound. I brought a bunch of clothes because the guys here that use the cleaners always get hangers in return. So soon I will be able to hang up some of my stuff. I went up to the cleaners with my friend from Australia, Tony. Great guy, really almost all the people I have met here have been really great people. Everyone is down to earth and can joke around with each other.
After I took my clothes in I went for some exercise so I walked down this trail that runs outside of the compound. Since I am injured I have not been able to exercise the way I need to. I tried to do a little work out the other day by doing a bit of swimming in the pool but my ribs hurt like hell after and I decided I need to give myself way more time to heal. So this walk was a much needed thing. It is a weird feeling walking down a rocky road and there are not really any people around. It is a very sobering experience. Worry not my friends Carlos kept his head on the swivel while I listened to some hip-hop in my Mp3 player. Just a walking and hearing music from home creates a feeling of normalcy in my mind. Also I saw a police car drive back and forth every 10 min. I think because I was walking near one of the Saudi Families Palaces. In my picture you can see the high wall and a small part of the Palace in the background. So I got a 45 min work out in and on my way back to the compound the wind started to kick up more than normal and with wind comes sand. I was ready though, I had my bandana put it on my face and I was good… Well almost I was fortunate enough to suck down a good amount of sand before I got the mask on, but real men can breath sand ; )
After the walk I took a ride with Tony and my cab driver Amin. Amin took us to this car sooke. This place was massive and there were cars everywhere. It’s hard to explain how big this area was and how many cars were out there.
The place was alive with people yelling and trying to make deals and vendors selling peanuts, water, soda and food. If I stopped to look at a car for a sec the guy who was trying to sell it would start talking to me in Arabic. When I try to explain “ no Arabia ,Amerikii” they lean back look at me and think I’m full of shit. I heard more than once “you no Saudi?” It was a really incredible experience.
Me Tony and Amin walked around for a hour and a half and only got to look at a 1/16 of all the cars in this place. Amin was real great cause he would tell us which cars were good and which ones not to bother he would also speak to the guys selling the cars and work deals. When you look at my pictures of this place keep in mind what you see is only what can fit in the frame. I will try to take a panoramic shot of it the next time we go.
My goal is to find a car I would not normally get in the states. Here gas is not a problem. For example I saw a 2002 Lincoln LS with a V8 for 17,500 Saudi Ryials which is about $5,300 American. I would love to own this car, but we will see. I’m still keeping my eyes open for a Imprezza Sti or a Mitsubishi Evolution. Oh and gas here right now is 17 cents a liter, which is 68 cents a gallon. Anyway, the place closed before we could see everything so me and Tony decided we need to go back another day when we can spend way more time.
After that I had Amin drop me in downtown Riyadh so I could eat dinner with my buddies at the hotel. After dinner we walked to the mall, walked around and stopped by starbucks to sit outside and drink some coffee. While we were sitting outside it started to rain. It drizzled a bit last night and that blew me away but today it actually rained. Now Saudi Arabia averages 4in a year and I think this was the whole years worth of rain today. I have never been so happy to see rain.
After the guys went back to their rooms I waited around for Amin to come and pick me up so if you know me I didn’t just sit in the lobby of the hotel I went out and explored for about a hour. In the main part of the city it’s much harder to get lost. So I stepped out of the hotel and just made a right and explored. I found some real cool shops and I also found a area where they sold a bunch of computer stuff. There were these guys in the street that would walk up to me holding disc in hand but instead of movies they were selling pirated computer programs, but a few strides away I found a guy who sells the movies” Praise Jesus!” I finally found me some movies. So I picked up 6 very recent movies for 10 ryial each which is about 3 bucks(”Yeaaaaaaa !!!)
Tonight my goal is to post all the pictures of today, so you can see what I saw. FYI, I also posted some other pics on facebook.
Talk to you soon.

A positive Day

3-23-10

Hello everyone,
Today was a much more positive day then yesterday. I did start it off with a phone call from Amira and then I couldn’t get back to sleep so I figured I will get up and do something. I got out into the main parts of the city and had lunch at the mall near the hotel where some of the guys moved to. After we went to pick up one of the flight medics Allen from the base where SRCA keeps the helicopter. I drove with my buddy Tom and I got to watch the chopper fly in. It flew over top of us so close that we both got blasted with the Prop Wash. Which blew dirt and grass into my face. The force was strong enough to flip my shirt up and onto my head as I held my hands in my ears. After we got Allen we drove back to the hotel and we had some dinner. On the way there we passed this real cool market. I t was loaded with people and it look liked they sold all kinds of stuff. I got some pictures while in traffic, but it is hard to tell how amazing and full of life this place was. At the hotel I got Lamb Kabobs which I thought would be chunks of Lamb on a stick but out here they also take ground lamb and put it on a stick. It wasn’t bad, it came with french fries which I am starting to notice comes with a bunch of stuff here. We also ate some Hummus with some flat bread. Awesome!
Tom drove me back to the compound and the compound manager was standing outside. The day before I told him I would walk his dogs for him and help him to train them. I figured it will help me stay sane by making myself a job. Well, he has two beautiful huskies. So I told him I want to take them for a walk separately first so off I got with the boy and I run up and down the compound with him and I do some training stuff with him. These dogs are super well behaved for two dogs who’s idea of daily activity is being left on a roof top at night. So I took both of them for a round and did some exercises with them. After I spoke with the Manager (Tamor) threw a translator and it was really nice. These dogs with only 1 hour of time really help lift my spirits. It’s good to be doing something even if it’s not my job.
Tomorrow I will be going with Travis and AJ to work so I can get away. They are working this big festival here in Saudi. All I know is that it is somewhere I went 4 wheeling.
Now if your reading this you may notice that the dates may be off a bit. It is because the internet at the compound has been off line. So I hop that I can put this up soon along with pictures. I think I am start to get used to this place a whole lot more. It still looks like mars in some places though.
Well I’m off to bed now, I do enjoy our little chats. I will make sure I take more pictures to post as soon as I can.
Later,
Carlito

Sunday March 22nd

Sunday March 22nd

I am actually sitting on my stoop at 130 am here. Writing about yesterday. Today I woke up and played some playstation, fed one of the cats that are around and watched half of a movie while I ate a bowl of cereal. Yes they have cereal here; Dig em Smacks MMM. The good thing about today was that it was kind of cool I think low 80s high 70s all day. I did find out a fun fact about Saudi Arabia today. KSA ( Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia) is one of the few places on earth that can reach up to 140 degrees in the summer. Ouch!
Anyway, one of the medics from Australia, Tony came over in the3 morning and said he was going into town to look at a car. So whenever I hear someone is going into town I ask to go. It’s nice to see people. So we hopped into this guys cab to check out a Chevy Blazer we drove for 20 min looked at the car went to McDonalds and turned around and came back. It’s a funny feeling to sit inside McDonalds and only see a bunch of men, because there is a Single men section and a family section. This society is set up for families. Even in the mall after a certain time at night they usually stop men from walking in because it’s family time. It truly is another world. You start to become conscious of the time because if your in the mall and trying to get some food and if the call to prayer comes all the shops close. So you better have your food or purchases taken care of. If not you have to wait about 30 min for everything to open back up. The pace people do things is different too. If you ask someone well when do you think my paperwork will be ready they will say real soon “Insh Allah” (God willing) So it’s important to not be in a rush.
So after we left McDonalds we came back to the compound. But I had to go out again. I just need more interaction with people than just a quick visit to Mickey D’s
So about 3 hours later I went back into town with one of my American neighbors Abdula and his wife Susan. I call them my family because in the compound they are some of the few people that speak English. They are really nice people from Louisiana.
So we got food in the mall and I got to sit in the family section. It was real nice to sit with people and eat dinner.
After dinner we split up and I went to go visit my buddies Tom And Allen at the hotel that SRCA put them in downtown. I walked around for about a hour before I found the hotel. I started off so sure of myself in the wrong direction. Anyway was able to chat with those guys for about a hour before I had to head back.
Here I notice that sitting down and talking to people who speak the same language and have relatively the same culture is a very big deal. It makes the day better.
On a much brighter side I was invited to got to a party or a get together at the American Embassy. An American lady that I met on the plane introduced me so now I have a hook up to go to Steak and movie night this Wednesday. I can’t wait to speak to more Americans it should be real cool. Well I will write again real soon and post more picture when the internet wants to work with me. I did get some pics to upload onto facebook today so you can see some of what I have been talking about. Thanks for reading…writing you makes me feel like I am talking to you somewhat it helps with the fact I don’t know many people here. I look forward to when I can tell you stories of work. Til then I will still keep in touch.

Carlos

Sand Storm? What Sand Storm?

Ok so two days ago I went to a place called Thurmamma to go 4 wheeling with some of the medics from Action Aviation. Me and two of the other SRCA medics met up with the action guys at their hotel. Then we went for a 40min drive out of the city and into the desert. Did I mention there was a sandstorm going on. There was about 300 meters of visibility but that didn't make a difference. So we get to the place where we rent the 4 wheelers and it is this site with a few tents and about 20 4 wheelers lined up. It only cost us 100 Saudi Rials which is about 30 dollars for a hour.
Now this is my first time on one of these and it had a bit of a issue with the brakes... The didn't really work. But hey we're in the desert we got all the time in the world to stop. So off we go into the desert. The first dunes we go over are subtle nothing to crazy but as we traveled a bit further in they became REAL BIG. So of them you had to get up speed to get up them or you would get stuck. Which I did a few times. The most interesting thing was that some of the dunes were moderate incline and then the other side was a pretty steep drop down I think the biggest dune I went up was about 50 feet high. Anyway as we are going in I asked on of the guys. How do we find our way back? He looked behind us and said we just got to go that way...
Now I have a camel pack on and I am sooooo glad that I brought it cause apparently they are very hard to find here in the Kingdom. So I figure these guys have done this before so I'm ok. Anyway, we zip around up and down dunes round and round and we jump some smaller dunes here and there.
There was this one dune or a bit of a ramp in the sand it was about 3 feet high, some of the guys had jumped it so I figured I'm really gonna get some air time. Well I got some good distance and speed up pretty fast hit this ramp and BAM! As I got up it my right side of the bike went down instead of up and straight and over the handle bars I went. I tried to tuck for some what of a roll but I think I only got half f a roll. All I remember is going over quick and then landing on my right side arm, and head buried somewhat in the sand. I tried to get up right away but when i did I fell back onto my hand trying to catch my breath. I pressed my ribs to see if any were broken but it turned out ok. There was a guy about to take a picture but when he say how hard I crashed he put the camera down and ran over. Well I am so glad I landed on a soft spot in the desert but I still hurt like hell 2 days later. I don't think I will be 4 wheeling for a while. Oh I forgot on the way back we got lost. So it took us longed than it did to get out where we were. It's funny how that way changes after a hour of doing jumps, dives and donuts in the sand. Lucky for us the place where we road was surrounded by fence and a road. How bit it was I'm not sure but we made it back, thank GOD. By the way happened all during a sand storm and there were no other fools out but us. After all was said and done I hurt like hell but had a blast.
The next day I went out for a walk by myself and I sat and enjoyed coffee at a plaza near the Mc Donalds. Came back to the compound and made some steaks on a grill and sat with 2 ice packs on my hip and chest. Today I am going to head back toward the middle of the city and me and my roommate are gonna get a wireless router so I don't have to walk to the lounge to use the internet.
Well my friends I will write you again soon. Writing this does help me keep sane. BTW if you see this without pictures of the dirt biking experience just check back later, downloading takes a while sometimes.

Happy Saint Patty’s Day
March 17th 2010

So I finally made it over here to sunny Saudi Arabia. I have to start by saying fuck what you think you know about culture shock until you have experienced it. It’s one thing to do research on a place and a totally different thing to actually be in that place…Jetlag wuppin your ass. I was picked up from the airport by a nice young guy by the name of Abdula. Now Amira did say to me that the driving here is probably like a dollar cab drive down flatbush ave. Almost but not quite, way more intense.
In my first day here I have see some things that are the norm I guess. But if I told you, you would not believe it. For example I went to the mall today Wednesday. I saw a group of guys driving down a main strip in four wheelers fast in the wrong direction. Now if that wasn’t enough as this group of 10 or so 4 wheelers blew the red light as they traveled threw on coming traffic. That’s Nucking Futs!
My roommate’s name is Jeff and he is a pretty cool guy in his late 40’s early 50’s from Spokane Washington, he looks a bit like Kenny Rogers. He and another guy named Dan who is a retired firefighter from Albany NY drove me out of the compound to get some dinner buy groceries and to get a cell phone. Everyone I have met so far have been real cool people. I got a fun fact from the guys. In Riyadh there are about 17 motor vehicle deaths a day. No bullshit.
Anyway I have been forcing myself to stay awake that I can fall asleep and kind of get on their schedule here as best as I can.
It’s funny cause I say that as I write this post at 0354 Riyadh time 854pm EST and I can’t really sleep.
The flight was cool but there were a bunch of little kids on the flight that would from time to time scream at the top of their lungs. My flight was a total of 12 hours with a stop over in Jeddah. I went to the SRCA office and met the ladies that help us with our paper work everyone was super friendly and accommodating. I got the chance to have some Arabic coffee, which is not black or brow but greenish yellow. It had a little kick. After I went to the compound and got my room. My first thought as a walked around it was, Wow this in tiny. That’s when it all set in… I thought to myself, where the fuck am I? Am I dreaming? I can’t believe I am really here. Really scary feeling. But after my short nap and meeting more of the guys and getting my cell turned on and talking to Amira and Jazmine I felt a million times better. I got some cool picture and I will try to post video real soon cause if pictures say a thousand words video will say a million. Much love to all and I will try to put a post again in two days.
Ma Salama,
Carlos
PS
today I tried numerous times to load pictures on facebook as well as this blog and it didn't work so for tonight I will have to just post words. Talk to you soon.
LOS

The Adventure begins

Day one my adventure to work for the Saudi Red Crescent in Saudi Arabia

Ok so how do I begin? Woke 4am sat morning the 13th. Got my things together and said goodbye to Jazmine and Amira. That was hard. Got onto the plane which had some of the smallest seats I have ever been in. It seemed like a flight for middle school kids. But as luck would have it in the emergency isle there were people that couldn't sit there, because they didn’t speak English. So right away I spoke up” I speak English” And Boom I now have a seat for a grown up with plenty of room. If I can give anyone advise about flying stay off Delta if you can help it.
So the flight was great pretty smooth. We made it to NY 30min early. BUT… we had to wait to land because of bad weather. So we flew over NY for those 30 min before getting cleared to land. The pilot told us it was going to be a bit bumpy because of the weather as we landed. So a bumping we went down threw the clouds. As we made our final approach and I was able to see the ocean. BAM! The pilot suddenly pulled up real hard and cranked the engines. I could feel some serious G’s as we climbed and then banked HARD to the right. Now if you have ever been threw something like this on a plane it is interesting to hear 200 people take a big gulp all at the same time. Anyway, the pilot comes on the air and sounds shook. He tells us that the tower had us and another plane bunched too close he tells us not to worry we are going to swing around and make another approach. 15 min later we touch down to thunderous applause. I don’t clap til the plane stops. Once to a complete stop I throw my hands in the air and yell Weeee and then clap with everyone again.
So now I get off meet with my Uncle Robert and drive to meet Rachel and Marcus, but the drive on the belt was super long because one of the lanes was underwater. So I saw the baby, Rachel and fam real quick got back to the airport after sitting down to eat with them for only 30 min. Made it back to the airport, went threw security, got 1200 Saudi Dollars exchanged which cost me $512 and made it on to the plane.
At this point we sat and waited on the plane for a total of 6 hours we pulled on to the runway once but the wind was so strong that the plane would rock as if we were in the air. Later I would find out that that there were wind gust up to 74 Mph. The plane rocked so much and for so long, even when docked that when I laded down at night I felt like I was still moving.
So all flights we canceled and we were told to come back 0730 the next morning and maybe we will fly out in between 2 storm fronts. So I called my Uncle and he came and picked me up and we had dinner at this awesome Korean restaurant.
Now I must go to sleep to be up early tomorrow to possibly fly out. Insh Allah.